REVIEW: Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

Jen's Review

Sweet Evil
by Wendy Higgins
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: May 1, 2012

Why. WHY.

Seeing Sweet Evil land in multiple lists of 2012 favorites, I knew I had to pick it up. I'd heard only countless things about the amazing Kaidan Rowe (the HOTTIE.), and creativity of the angel and demon aspect. And yes, I can agree to those things. I loved the characters in Sweet Evil, as well as the twist on Nephilim, sure. The start of the story was addicting and I knew I was going to fall in love with it. I thought, "So THIS is what I've been missing out on! You guys were so right about this book." Well, turns out, I was kind of wrong. By the last quarter of the novel, I was bored to death. Because of this, I was left disappointed by Sweet Evil, but at the same time, I still enjoyed it.

But before I start ranting about this book, I'd like to rave about it for a little bit. The characters were one of my favorite qualities in Sweet Evil. I immediately loved Anna Whitt because she was innocent and new how to make the right decisions. She was a little too innocent at times, but it wasn't bothersome for me. I loved her relationship with her surrogate mother, Patti. It was really sweet and genuine and just really touching overall. Of course, I have to talk about Kaidan Rowe, the infamous British bad-boy that everyone seems to rave about. Um, can you say MAJOR SWOON? There was some definite fan-girling and sighs involved while reading the steamy scenes. Not only were the main characters fabulous, a lot of the side characters were just as significantly likeable. Jay, for example. Jay is Anna's music-loving best friend, and he was so supportive, he made me want to have a guy best-friend. He was super friendly and just an overall happy character. Also, previously mentioned before, Patti Whitt. As Anna's "mother", she was really lenient and protective at the same time. Her genuine concern really hit it home for me. The characters had to be one of my favorite attributes of Sweet Evil.

I also have to appreciate the angel and demon world that Higgins has created! It's unlike any other angel story I've read, since she brings in Dukes and Legionnares and it's just a bunch of awesome. The creativity of the demons was able to bring about conflict and little bumps along the way, which I thought was a very smart way to create plot tension.

However, my enjoyment for this book pretty much ends here. Let the ranting begin.

While I do say that I love Anna and Kaidan as characters, I didn't necessarily like them together. Their relationship didn't really seem real to me. I never fully understood why Kaidan liked Anna, as he IS the son of the Duke of Lust, and kind of easily falls for a girl's physical features. Similarly, Anna seemed to fall for Kaidan for the same reason. Because he was cute. Yeah, that makes a strong relationship, right? Their relationship was on-again, off-again for the ENTIRE time, and I just. *face palm* MAKE UP YOUR MINDS, HORMONE-LOADED TEENAGERS. Goodness.

I also got bored with the plot in the last quarter of the novel. Nothing was happening, and most importantly, nothing was being resolved. *Insert bored gif here* And you know how usually, novels end with a fast-paced, action scene? Well, Sweet Evil had one of those, but it certainly wasn't exciting or a page-flipper. Needless to say, the ending wasn't even able to satisfy me. There was no craving for more. I didn't even want to know what happens next for Anna and Kaidan. Yeah, super depressing.

This concludes my mixed-feeling review for Sweet Evil. I had every intention of picking this book up in the first place and devouring it, but no intention at all to pick up the sequel. While the characters and the concept of angels and demons were highly fascinating, I couldn't look past the romantic relationship or the plot in the end. However, there are so many other readers out there who enjoyed this book, so I do still recommend it!

3.5 teacups for Sweet Evil!